Martin Petrov struck as City came from behind to gain a point with a mixed performance that was divided by Pablo Zabaleta’s sending off. Prior to the Argentine’s dismissal, there was a disjointed look to Mark Hughes’ side with stray passes and a lack of cohesion in our attacks. Reduced to ten men, City found their focus, looked compact and could even have snatched a win.
Continue Reading →City look to consolidate their place in the top four this weekend with a trip to Wigan. With so many players having picked up knocks in the past couple of weeks, the options for Mark Hughes are unclear. The same squad who went to Villa could all be available, or injuries could take take their toll on Zabaleta, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, de Jong, Bellamy and Petrov.
Added to that, Carlos Tevez has only just returned from Argentina, though he was hardly overworked with Diego Maradona’s team selections giving him just the final four minutes of a possible two matches.
Continue Reading →Given – Needed to be on his toes from the off when a Agbonlahor flick nearly sneaked in. Otherwise the Irishman had surprisingly little to do. 6
Zabaleta – Did an excellent job in keeping Ashley Young quiet. The recalled Argentine international was decent in possession without really threatening the Villa defence. 7
Continue Reading →We feared Villa’s strength at set-pieces, just as we knew the law of ex-players scoring, and so it proved with Richard Dunne bagging the first goal. Yet the character and quality of this City side saw Craig Bellamy crash in an equaliser in a game that bore all the hallmarks of full-blooded English football.
The pace of the game, and energy expended by both sides was typical of how Mark Hughes and Martin O’Neill like to see their sides play. This was never a cagey affair, even if clear cut chances were few and far between.
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